I identify myself as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) user. In fact, whoever interacts with me is also one because you are not voicing to me. It is not necessary that one must use a Communication book or the TOBII eye gaze system to do so. 

This is a shoutout to the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), the Singapore chapter, for always accommodating my access needs. The ISAAC Singapore organizes their “AAC Also Can” sessions for AAC users, caregivers and professionals who work with these users so that users can hang out together. 

Since Covid-19, the AAC Also Can sessions have been held virtually via video conferencing. For me to access the sessions, there is a notetaker who will be typing what is going on throughout via Google Docs. There is also another Google Doc for the breakout session. 

For the AAC Also Can Hari Raya Edition in June, we were playing the Ketupat Bingo game. As it was an AAC-related session about Hari Raya Edition, the items were all about Hari Raya celebrations.

The ISAAC Singapore staff converted the Bingo card into an accessible Word version. The notetaker then re-converted the Word document into the second Google Doc where there were five lines for the Rows, five for the Columns and even two for the Diagonals. What I needed to do was then, to toggle between both Google Docs during the activity. In the main event where they will spin and call out the items and the other document where I could delete the matched items. When I could not delete the items for that line, I have Bingo. 

I was lucky enough — I managed to mark a line through the Diagonals, and I won! 

Screenshot of Siew Ling's bingo card

This is my winning card

 Screenshot of the re-converted Bingo card

This is a screenshot of the re-converted Bingo card.

Tan Siew Ling is fully Deafblind, having lost both her sight and hearing to a neurological condition, Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). She carries a screen reader with a Braille display, which she fondly names it as “Bear Bear”, everywhere she goes. Her humour, wordplay, and love of puns keep friends on their toes. She enjoys reading books in her free time and loves to pen down her thoughts, often on a whim, which can be entertaining at times, on her social media. When she is not writing or reading, she can be seen doing insanely 72kg leg presses or swinging a 20kg kettlebell to and fro. You can find out more about Siew Ling and her journey here